1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of culinary utensils and is particularly concerned with a kitchen spatula for handling eggs during the preparation thereof.
2. Prior Art
The art of kitchen utensils is replete with spatulas of various shapes and sizes. The most common kitchen spatula consists of a substantially flat spatula blade extending integrally into a handle.
This type of utensil is freqently used during cooking operations to flip over food being, for example, grilled in a sauce pan. The conventional spatula is also often used to manipulate the food when it is being placed or removed for a cooking receptacle.
In order to improve the efficiency of the spatula in manipulating the food, a number of spatulas have been provided with various components mostly dedicated to grasping the food in order to prevent it from slipping off the spatula blade.
Examples of such utensils are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,643,907 issued to J. B. Thomas, Jun. 30, 1953; U.S. Pat. No. 2,292,889 issued to I. A. McKee, Aug. 11, 1942; U.S. Pat. No. 3,492,039 issued to J. F. Chmela, January, 1970; U.S. Pat. No. 2,801,873 issued to J. E. Faughnder, Aug. 6, 1957 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,971 issued to Goulter, Sep. 11, 1990.
Although the spatulas disclosed in the above mentioned patents may be adequate to grip and manipulate various types of food products, they do not form an elegant solution for the manipulation of eggs.
Indeed, the egg has specific characteristics which structurally set it apart from other food products. When an egg is being fried, its yolk portion bulges upwardly in a substantially hemispherical configuration from the albumen or so-called "white" portion. The yolk is fragile and susceptible of being punctured.
Fried eggs are typically served in either a "sunny side up" or an "over easy" configuration. In both configuration, the yolk remains unpunctured and surrounded by the albumen or so-called "white" portion. The spatulas disclosed in the above mentioned patents are not suited for manipulating an egg without puncturing its yolk.